


A Place To Call Home

by Lobotomite



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-28
Updated: 2017-07-28
Packaged: 2018-12-08 01:25:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11636049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lobotomite/pseuds/Lobotomite
Summary: Liv set out to forge a relationship with her brother. She didn't expect everything else she got out of the deal.





	A Place To Call Home

Liv learnt a long time ago not to bother with expectations of the people around her, of the new places she went. Wherever she was, the only things that changed were the faces; she would still be on the outside, made fun of, unable to put a foot right; her mum would still be absent at best; she'd still be useless at school and sports and everything important.

She'd tried to force herself to stay realistic, when Aaron had agreed to let her stay – when he'd _fought_ to let her stay, had convinced his mum and Sandra of it. She's not an idiot – she knew it wouldn't last, that he'd quickly realise that she was too much; too much work, too much to handle, too different in all the wrong ways. She knew what to expect – a brief vacation away from her mum's health hanging around her shoulders, a little bit of time where she can get to know her brother and be taken care of for once.

She'd thought she knew, at least. But Aaron... Aaron hadn't backed off. Even after she fucked up, caused him trouble, came home from school grumpy and closed off or couldn't force the right words out of her mouth, or said something stupid and clumsy.

He'd still looked at her with that soft expression, still pulled her in for a hug whenever she wanted one – even when she didn't say it, he'd know and open his arms and she wouldn't even feel like she was intruding when she'd curl into his chest in response. He'd still go to his wallet whenever she asked, and even when she didn't.

And even when he snapped, when he said something harsh that made her heart catch in her throat during one of his bad days, or when she'd done something bad – _again –_ he did his best to make it right. It hurt, when he was angry, whether for a good reason or not – but having a brother who cared enough to seek her out in the aftermath and do his best to make it right, instead of pretending it never happened bar things done wordlessly out of guilt... it was something she'd never known she wanted so badly until she had it.

She'd come into this experience with her highest hopes being ending up packed off back to her mum's with a brother who'd come by and visit sometimes – she hadn't expected to connect with a brother she felt so at home with, who she could laugh with and mess about with and who wanted to _know_ her, even if he was useless at retaining any information on the life of a teenager. Who she felt confident in saying he loved her.

And if she hadn't expected that, she certainly hadn't expected the massive second family that apparently came with him by default. Granted, she still wasn't one hundred percent comfortable with all of them, not like she was with Aaron.

But Chas felt almost like a second mum, especially now after spending so much time with her away – she was hardly the picture of maternal perfection that Liv used to guiltily think about and wish for, when her mum was at her worst, but she was all the better for it, loud and brash and affectionate with her despite her wariness at the very beginning. Chas would kill someone with her bare hands for Aaron, she knew, and she was starting to think that Chas would at the very least administer severe bodily harm in her defense as well.

Of course, there was also Charity – another person she'd never have even thought about wanting in her life. She's snarky, just as loud as Chas but rougher, always has a comment for something and, as far as Liv can tell, has been monumental in cementing the Dingles' less than stellar reputation; but she takes Liv's barbs with a grin, and Liv just knows that if she was in a mess, Charity would help. With a lot of complaints and teasing and rubbing it in, maybe, but still doing whatever she could and keeping as quiet as was possible.

Hoping to make up for her mistakes with her brother and ending up with a family – she hadn't expected that. She hadn't thought to even want it. But coming to Emmerdale had been the best thing to happen to her, and it wasn't just because of them.

Because for once, she'd met someone her own age and made an immediate connection. She'd met someone completely unlike her in every way – attractive, personable, confident - and they'd been interested in her, sought her out, sat with her in school and talked to her and didn't even seem to mind that Liv was everything she wasn't.

Gabby was Liv's first real friend in the village – and ever, if she's going to be honest – and it had been brilliant, beyond brilliant, being her friend, being her partner in crime. Gabby was the type of person she'd spent years convincing herself she wanted to be rather than wanted to be with, in stubborn denial of her own attraction.

But it had been hard, too, trying so desperately to be a proper friend, to not be – not be _predatory_ , like all those boys who stared at her with their tongues out, who looked eagerly at that blurry video that Liv hates herself for taking and then attacked Gabby for.

And then they'd been tipsy, had been messing about, and she doesn't even remember what they were doing but she does remember Gabby's smile, her hands on Liv's face, the way she'd kissed her on obvious impulse and then folded in on herself in horror when Liv had been too stunned to react.

But more than any of that, she remembers the stunned, awed expression on Gabby's face when Liv had pulled her in and returned the kiss. Remembers the way she had, at first, responded the way Liv had to her – with a stunned lack of response. Remembers the way she'd quickly clung to Liv and responded, remembers the way they'd both smiled so wide they were barely even kissing any more, remembers the way it had felt so good and right and easy, the way that they'd gone on without any of the awkwardness Liv had always assumed was necessary.

She'd thought about her first kiss a lot, and she'd never imagined it like it had turned out. She'd built it up in her head, a moment of romantic passion with the man who proved her lack of male attraction was due to high standards, and in her head it was solemn and romantic and oh so serious.

But then she kissed Gabby – Gabby, female Gabby, who was her best friend before anything else – and then they smiled, and laughed, and the awkwardness melted around them.

Their friendship didn't suffer, like Liv had convinced itself it would; it just grew and adjusted, and they acted the same as they'd always done, only with more kisses in moments of privacy, with more familiar touches, with Gabby's hand in hers when they wreak havoc on their school.

Liv had moved into Emmerdale with no expectations. With barely any hopes. And curled up on the couch she shared with her brother, with her girlfriend's head tucked against her shoulder as they both watch a movie, her brother and his boyfriend having made themselves scarce – she can't think of anywhere she'd rather be.


End file.
